


Blue Neighborhood

by galactiicace



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, High School AU, Jack Morrison - Freeform, M/M, Mc76 - Freeform, Memory Loss, Overwatch - Freeform, friends from childhood, high school romance, jesse mccree - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 20:22:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14838563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galactiicace/pseuds/galactiicace
Summary: He was only 11 when they first kissed, a promise made between two friends on the last night of camp to never forget one another. But at 16, Jack has no memory of that summer, and he can't understand what it is about Jesse McCree that makes his heart quicken. He also can't understand why Jesse acts so distant to him. All he knows is there's something he's forgetting, and he needs to know what.





	Blue Neighborhood

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I'm back at it again with the gay that is Mc76. Special shout out to peacekeeper_revolvcr because this is an AU we came up with ages ago. Anyway my fics are forever going to be inspired by songs I guess, and this whole series, especially, is based off Blue Neighbohood by Troye Sivan.

Summer had started to roll into the deepest parts of Indiana early, the farm towns outside of Bloomington already dry and miserable. Jack was used to it, he’d worked on the farm for too many summers to count when school was let out, but he’d enjoyed the work in the absence of the daily goings of school. That’s all he could keep his mind on as he sat, staring out at the plains from his desk, cheek in his palm. He’d been daydreaming most of the day, distracted by the eagerness of the coming summer ( though two months still stood between him and freedom ), and he’d found it hard to concentrate on any one thing around him. His eyes were glossed, unseeing and unhearing, even after the spot beside him, once occupied by a cute girl whose name he’d never gotten, was taken up by a slim frame with shaggy brown hair. In fact, it wasn’t until his name had been called – three times – that Jack was snapped back to the reality at hand. 

“Morrison!” The teacher snapped, shocking Jack into a jump as his head whipped to face the front of the class. Her gaze came down on him sharp, an annoyed tick just under her eye. “Did you hear a word I said?”

Jack could feel his face heat up, burning red to the tips of his ears as a sheepish “No” came in response. The teacher’s gaze sharpened, momentarily, before she turned away and went back on with the lecture, leaving a trail of snickers throughout the class as eyes fell on the dusty farmer’s son. It had been the voice at his right, though, that had caught his attention, cornflower blues flicking to meet those of sweet whiskey, hidden behind shagged maple hair. The boy’s smile dropped instantly, seeing Jack’s eyes on him now, and his head snapped back to face front, cheeks dusted pink. Jack had caught him laughing, though he wasn’t sure as to who him was. He also wasn’t sure why his heart was racing in his chest, and why he wanted to hear that soft laughter again. 

**

He discovered at lunch that the new kid’s name was Jesse McCree, a scrawny, scrappy kid from New Mexico who had moved only a few weeks prior with his parents. Jack had been distracted, staring into the crowds of students flooding the courtyard on their way to the cafeteria, while Ana’s voice filtered here and there, enough to pick up on who he was and where he was from. 

“He’s apparently been here for a couple of weeks already.” She mused, though not intentionally, to herself. Ana knew everything, Jack had learned early on, including things no one else knew – in this instance, new kid’s ( Jesse McCree’s ) name, where he was from, and why he had moved. “Guess he got into a pretty bad scrap at his last school, so his parents pulled him and hightailed it out.” She sounded indifferent, a pencil tapping rhythmically to her knee as she watched the congregation pour into the cafeteria. 

“Hightailed it to Indiana?” Jack sounded skeptical, thick brow raised up at Ana questioningly. She shrugged, not looking back at him as she leaned against the pillar that backed the wall she sat upon. “Why the hell would anyone drag their kid here?”

“Ask my father.” She replied smoothly, taking the time to look over at him, then, dark eyes watching him with scary calculation. “Why do you care, anyway?”

Jack thought about the question, though found himself at a loss. He chewed at the remnants of his straw, not bothering with his actual lunch. He didn’t have an answer as to why he was suddenly interested in the new kid, but something felt familiar, and it had been bothering him since they made eye contact in class. But nothing felt familiar now, he was just more curious. “He laughed at me.” He finally decided as an answer.

“So did everyone else. Pretty sure you don’t know half the people in that class, so what’s the deal, Jack? Really?” Ana sounded skeptical now, tearing her gaze away from the masses to look at Jack now, gaze steady and determined. He decided not to answer, mostly for lack of answers himself. He was simply curious, and that’s all there was.

**

He discovered he shared three classes with New Kid ( Jesse McCree ), and in all but one, the two were sat beside each other. The second class they shared, English, the two were on opposite sides of the room, but Jesse had looked almost flustered to see Jack there. He’d quickly looked away and ducked into a seat, that same pink still dusted on his cheeks as before. Jack had smiled, but now felt some kind of guilt – or something negative – chip away at him, seeing the way Jesse had quickly avoided him. 

The third class they shared ( Science ), and the final of the day, had found the two in uncomfortable proximity, with Jack partner-less after failing to pay attention ( again ), and Jesse to new to be bothered with. So they stood, uncomfortable and awkward, with no words to be said between the two of them as they were given their instructions. Jesse, to his credit, had been good about trying to keep focused on their work, but Jack had been distracted, between watching him and wondering how a kid like this could end up in so many scraps that it supposedly led to him and his family moving across the country.

Jesse was not big – Jack, in fairness, was not much taller than him, an inch at most, but he was scrawny and looked like a twig. Jack was fairly certain that if he took a deep enough breath, he could easily just blow him over. He, on the other hand, while not much taller, was bigger. Years of soccer had made sure he kept in shape, and while he wasn’t as big as the football players, he could hold his own. Jesse, in comparison, felt like the kind who would get shoved into a locker in a bad high school sitcom. 

“Hey,” A soft spoke voice pulled him from his judgements, realizing too little too late that he’d been staring at Jesse for several long moments. Jesse, in turn, had been watching him curiously, brow furrowed, and an uncomfortable heat on his face. “You just gon’ stare like that or are you actually gonna help me?”

Jesse’s voice had a twang that caught Jack off guard; it was the kind of accent he would have expected of people in the south, not a kid from New Mexico. His mouth opened, ready to ask, before it snapped shut again, and he looked down at the table where their work sat, untouched. 

“Sorry, I –” He didn’t finish before Jesse cut him off, looking annoyed.

“Ain’t no sorry. Just focus on getting this done.” Jesse had snapped – whether he meant to be intentionally harsh or not, it made Jack cringe, his eyes dropping back to their work. He was beginning to see, at least a little, why he might have gotten into some fights over the years. The period passed in silence between them, communication gone, in favor of pretending the awkward silence didn’t actually exist. More than once, Jack had opened his mouth to apologize – for what, he wasn’t sure, but he figured staring hadn’t been a particularly nice thing to do, so he figured he could start with that. And each time, he felt something hold him back, so his gaze stayed dropped, and his mouth stayed closed. 

The bell had barely rung by the time Jesse had sprinted out, leaving Jack alone, prepared to apologize, and dazed. He watched the door, half expecting the new kid to come back, but as the last of the class trickled out, Jack sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. 

“Smooth.” Ana’s silk voice filtered into his ear, and Jack nearly screamed in shock, jumping a good few feet away from her. Ana, on the other hand, was grinning, barely keeping in laughter at the display, before she moved to sling her arm through Jack’s. “Jesus, Jack, calm down. I don’t like you when you’re spaced out.” 

“Do you even like me?” He asked, brow raised at her. He was half joking, not protesting the way she started to drag him from the classroom, her laugh a good enough answer that indicated she knew he was kidding. 

“God, don’t be so uptight.” She waved him off, strolling through the halls that seemed abuzz with activity, more so than usual. “Wonder what’s going on–” They heard it at the same time, though, repetitive shouts of fight ringing out in the courtyard, while students pushed past Jack and Ana to join the crowd that had gathered. For a moment, the two stood frozen, Ana because she could see the look on Jack’s face, and Jack because he had gone pale as a ghost.

“You don’t think he really—” Ana hadn’t managed to finish the sentence before Jack had broken away, sprinting into the crowd of students. 

“Move!” He commanded, shoving others out of his way as he pushed towards the middle of the crowd. He could already hear the jeering from some of the students, disgusting words flung at the only person Jack knew it could be. If there had been a record for shoving one’s way into the middle of a fight, Jack surely had broken it, hard-headed determination and adrenaline fueling him. 

He caught sight of the other one first, some Senior with too much steam to blow, before his eyes landed on Jesse, whose shirt was balled into the senior’s fist, blood dripping from his nose, while his nails scratched defiantly at the hoodlum’s arm to make him let go. 

“What’sa matter, kid? Can’t even fight back? Ain’t that why you’re here, heard all ‘bout you already. So go on, fight back, champ.” Jesse said nothing to the taunts, though he dug deeper into the older’s arm, swallowing hard against the blood that filled his mouth despite trying to keep his mouth closed tight. The senior boy sneered, disgusted by the display, by something unbeknownst to Jack, and reared his fist back. “Fucking fa—”

Jack was faster, prepared to break bone if needed, as he swung. Jesse had braced himself, but wasn’t expecting his ass to hit the ground, nor was he prepared for the sound of cracking and a howl of pain that came rushing from the guy who had grabbed him. He was prepared to see Jack standing over him, knuckles cracked and bloody, while he towered over the senior that had nearly broken his nose. 

To his credit, Jack hadn’t expected it, either, his body acting on instinct, and now he stood, shaking from adrenaline and the rip of pain that shot through his arm after his fist connected with jaw. His hand was trembling, throbbing, and he was breathing hard as a hush fell over the crowd watching. 

“Jack!” Ana, now, had pushed her way to the center, but Jack wasn’t paying attention to her. Instead, he had turned to Jesse, kneeling beside him and forcing his chin up so he could inspect the damage. 

“Are you alright?”


End file.
